The present invention relates to a rotary optical connector intended to transmit information optically between relatively rotatable light transmitting and receiving means; being more particularly directed to the optical transmission of data from at least one light-emitting transmitter which is radially mounted upon a hollow disc (or ring) to a corresponding receiver belonging to a set of receivers situated within the same plane as the aforementioned transmitter, inside a cylinder located along the same axis as the disc, and with said cylinder being capable of unimpeded rotary movement in relation to said disc.
An exemplary use of such a connector is the linking of two transmission cables in relation, for example, to a buoy floating on the surface of the ocean, with the opposite end of one cable being connected to monitoring and control units installed on service vessels which are anchored to the aforementioned buoy, and the opposite end of the other cable connected to drilling heads intended to operate on the ocean bottom. The cable which is used to transmit information, accordingly, must be connected to the buoy by means of a rotary type of connector to permit proper transmission regardless of rotary motion of the two cable sections in relation to one another.
Connections of this type have heretofore been established by means of pressure-activated electrical contacts consisting, for example, of brushes which rub against transfer discs immersed in oil. Nevertheless, the power which is provided for transmitting information, i.e., several milliamperes up to several volts, is unsuitable in terms of the voltage drops which are inherent in this type of connection, and the power is likewise subject to variations according to time.